It Turns Out I Really Love You - Chapter 3

In a blink of an eye, the winter break arrived, and Sang Wuyan returned to her hometown in B City after finishing her postgraduate entrance exams.

“How did you do on the exam?” Sang Mama kept asking this question.

“I don’t know. Really don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I’m not the grading teacher, how would I know?”

“Then I guess you didn’t do well.”

“Mm, I guess so,” she parried.

Indeed, she hadn’t done well. She didn’t even show up for the last subject. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt that studying was meaningless, and she didn’t want to take the postgraduate exam anymore. Moreover, she hadn’t really reviewed much. Her major courses were fine, but English alone would definitely be a fail.

After several repetitions of this kind of dialogue between mother and daughter, they finally stopped talking about it.

The New Year’s activities were nothing more than watching TV at home, meeting classmates outside, or visiting relatives with her parents, and then wandering around when she had free time.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, she received a call saying that many high school classmates had returned and wanted to get together that evening.

“Xu Qian is coming too. Weren’t you two best friends before?” The class president enthusiastically coaxed.

“Let’s just forget it.”

“Hurry up, we’re waiting for you.”

Class reunions were always the same: dinner, karaoke, everyone chatting about old times and recent updates, with some sweet couples even bringing their partners.

Sang Wuyan took the bus and turned into a small convenience store at the entrance of the hot pot restaurant to buy chewing gum. As she came out, she was unwrapping the chewing gum and walking forward. After a few steps, she saw two people also about to enter the hot pot restaurant.

These two were none other than Wei Hao and Xu Qian.

Wei Hao was also stunned when he saw Sang Wuyan.

“Wuyan…” he said.

Sang Wuyan paused, ready to turn around and leave.

“Sang Wuyan!” Xu Qian, however, shouted loudly, stopping Sang Wuyan, and then walked aggressively forward, “What are you hiding from?”

“What am I hiding from? This road isn’t owned by you; it’s my business whether I go forward or back,” Sang Wuyan said.

Wei Hao was caught in the middle, not knowing what to do.

“Don’t always act like Wei Hao and I did you wrong,” Xu Qian said. “You should know, among the three of us, you were the third party.”

Sang Wuyan sneered, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.

She had just left home; if she went back within half an hour, her mother would definitely interrogate her, so she found a snack shop to kill time.

It was rush hour for dinner, and the shop was already doing good business, so customers were three layers deep, packed tightly. Sang Wuyan finally squeezed in with difficulty and ordered a bowl of noodles.

Loud music was playing on the radio in the shop, broadcasting the traffic information for that time slot. If a few acquaintances were eating and chatting, they would have to shout to be heard.

Halfway through her meal, a song was played on the radio. Although it was hard to discern clearly in the noisy place, she recognized the melody. To be precise, it was the piano piece Su Nianqin had played in the music room that one time. Although it was played by other instruments now, and had lyrics sung by someone, she remembered it.

The impression was too deep.

She had always admired people who could play musical instruments, let alone a blind person who could handle a piano so skillfully. If listening to it then only gave off a hint of exotic flavor, the original song now playing on the radio was simply a song with a strong classical style.

“What our listeners just heard was Xu Guanpu’s latest single, ‘Swallows on the Beam’,” the host said.

After a hearty meal, Sang Wuyan put her hands in her down jacket pockets and went to a nearby audio-visual store, wandering for half a day but couldn’t find that CD.

A young store assistant enthusiastically came over to ask.

“I’m looking for Xu Guanpu’s song.”

“This whole row is his,” the assistant led her.

“No, no, no, the newest one, just released.”

“You mean ‘Swallows on the Beam’?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Sang Wuyan said.

“It seems it hasn’t been released yet; many people have asked about it these past few days,” the assistant smiled.

“Oh,” Sang Wuyan was disappointed.

“However,” Sang Wuyan was about to leave the store when the assistant said from behind, “However, big sister, you can search online.”

As soon as she walked in the door, Sang Mama asked, “Why are you back so early?” Usually, she wouldn’t come home until past ten or eleven from class reunions.

“It wasn’t fun, so I left early.”

“Wei Hao just called looking for you. He said if you came back, to call him so he can come find you.”

“From now on, if he calls, tell him I’m not here.”

“Why are you treating him like that?”

“How am I treating him?” Sang Wuyan raised her voice.

“Is this how you talk to adults?” Sang Mama got angry. “Don’t be annoyed by everything we say, and don’t disapprove of everything. He called looking for you; returning the call is basic human decency, you should do that even for a stranger, let alone someone you grew up with. Don’t think we don’t know some things; Wei Hao has been good enough to you…”

“Mom! Please stop talking!” Her mouth said “please,” but her tone was impatient.

“And this has nothing to do with you,” Sang Wuyan added.

Sang Mama became even more annoyed, “Old Sang, look at your daughter, saying it has nothing to do with me. What kind of talk is that? I raised her for over twenty years for nothing, and she gets angry when I say two words to her.”

Both mother and daughter had quick tempers.

Sang Papa, who never intervened in their wars, chuckled, letting the matter drop.

Just as the dispute was escalating, the doorbell rang.

It was Wei Hao at the door.

Sang Papa and Wei Hao’s father taught at the same university. Both families lived in the professors’ apartment building, upstairs and downstairs, making it very easy to visit.

Sang Papa opened the door, and as if nothing was wrong, he immediately invited Wei Hao in to sit down.

Wei Hao stood at the doorway, seemingly sensing the tension in the house, caught between staying and leaving.

Sang Mama’s face changed faster than a chameleon, “Xiao Hao, aren’t you looking for Wuyan? Here she is, just got back.”

Sang Wuyan didn’t fall for it and directly turned around and went into her room.

Sang Mama said with a pleasant expression, “Your father and I were just saying we needed to go to the supermarket to buy some things. You young people chat.” After saying that, she pulled Sang Papa, changed clothes, and went out.

Sang Wuyan was in her bedroom with the door closed. She waited for a long time, then couldn’t hold it anymore and wanted to use the restroom, but she didn’t know if the person outside was still there. She pressed her ear to the door for a long time but heard no movement outside.

Physiological urges overcame reason. She resolutely opened the door, looked around, saw no one, walked a few steps, and then suddenly found Wei Hao sitting on the sofa.

He looked at her.

She stared back at him, then saw him stand up and slowly walk closer.

“Just now, Xi Xi said a friend invited her to dinner, and asked me to take her. I didn’t know it was your high school reunion…”

“Am I the third party?” Sang Wuyan suddenly interrupted him.

“Don’t listen to her.”

“Am I the third party, Wei Hao?” Sang Wuyan stared at him intently, asking again.

Wei Hao didn’t speak.

Sang Wuyan saw his non-committal attitude, scoffed, turned around, slammed the door, and left.

She left very quickly, completely forgetting her urgent physiological need. Only when she reached the street did she start to panic.

She found a KFC, quickly relieved herself, and then began to ponder. She couldn’t go back home for now. If Wei Hao hadn’t left, or if her mother was ready to continue her battle, in either case, going back would be walking into a trap.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

She had no choice but to go to another classmate’s house. This classmate was Wen Yao, who had just visited Sang’s house a few days ago. Fortunately, only Wen Yao was at home at the moment. Seeing Wen Yao surfing the internet, Sang Wuyan had a sudden idea and said, “Oh, right, I want to download a song.”

The two of them leaned over the computer and typed in the three characters for “Swallows on the Beam.”

Many results appeared, but Sang Wuyan clicked on them one by one to listen, and none of them were complete; they were all only half-songs.

Even if it was only half a song, it didn’t diminish its pleasantness at all.

“It’s pretty good,” Wen Yao praised.

Sang Wuyan sighed. It was indeed good, but it was far from the feeling of Su Nianqin playing it personally that day.

Wen Yao didn’t understand, thinking she was disappointed about not finding the full song. Just as she was about to comfort her, she saw a name in the lyrics and murmured, “It’s Yi Jin again.”

Sang Wuyan looked at the screen upon hearing that.

Although it was only half a song, the lyrics were complete, posted by a netizen on a blog.

Swallows on the Beam

Outside the window, swallows flutter, flying in pairs, between green waters and human homes.Old Wang and Xie, ordinary lanes and paths, all are old homelands.Swallows on the beam, stealing glances first,Someone sighs in the twilight,Listening to the wind, listening to the rain, listening to entwined affection.Peach leaf after peach leaf, boundless spring breeze.Young master Wang goes to the ferry,With a smile from peach leaf, courteously speaking softly.Two joys, touching the gentleman who picks alone,Just cross without hardship, thread by thread, sweet as honey.Lingering.

Thousands of years later, there is Wuyi Lane, there is Peach Leaf Ferry, there are swallows on the beam.Elegance.Mist and clouds on paper, emotions in poetry, meaning in paintings, torment in the heart.Fluttering.Coming here year after year, tiles on the roof, nests under the eaves, new mud, old twigs.Only this person by the window, standing alone for a long time,Listening to the swallows’ charming whispers.

After the peach blossoms fade, willows wither, swallows.After twilight, it is morning, every day.After early spring, it is late autumn, year after year.Orioles and swallows, whispering sweetly,Chirping round and round, morning after morning.Clear and dim, in thought always,Diligently, eagerly, continuously.

The more she read, the more she felt it was a coincidence. The lyrics happened to be about the story of Wang Xianzhi that she had discussed with Su Nianqin last time, and it also happened to mention Wuyi Lane and Peach Leaf Ferry.

“Who did you say wrote it?” Sang Wuyan asked.

“Yi Jin,” Wen Yao pointed to the upper left of the screen.

Sang Wuyan suddenly sat upright, beginning to have a suspicion. Then, she immediately dismissed it: Impossible, it’s too… incredible.

At eleven o’clock that night, downstairs from her apartment building, Sang Wuyan saw that all the lights in her home were off before she felt safe enough to enter.

She turned on her desk lamp and sat down seriously, using her scientific analysis skills to list the similarities between Su Nianqin and Yi Jin on a piece of paper—

First, on the day Yi Jin was interviewed by Nie Xi, she met Su Nianqin at the radio station.

She nodded and put a checkmark next to this point.

Second, this new song was the one she heard Su Nianqin playing last time.

She nodded again and put another checkmark.

Third… third…

It seemed there was no third point…

Only two points didn’t seem to prove much, Sang Wuyan chewed on her pen and added another point.

Third, Yi Jin and Su Nianqin both live in A City.

No, Sang Wuyan shook her head and crossed it out. Many people live in A City; she was one of them.

Now there was something that could determine whether Su Nianqin was Yi Jin: the recording of Nie Xi’s interview with Yi Jin. After so many face-to-face contacts, she should be able to fully recognize Su Nianqin’s voice.

Thinking this, she wasn’t so anxious anymore.

For several days in a row, the mother and daughter didn’t reconcile, and her mother still wore a sour face towards her.

They saw each other constantly, so she simply didn’t go out. To avoid meeting Xu Qian and Wei Hao, and being pointed at and called a third party again.

What did it mean to be caught between a rock and a hard place? This was a living example.

After the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, many classmates returned to school to busy themselves with work matters. Sang Wuyan took the opportunity to find an excuse to return to A City; otherwise, she would surely get sick from being cooped up at home.

As soon as she arrived at school, she regretted it.

The New Year was relatively late this year; the ninth day of the Lunar New Year happened to be February 14th. The campus was filled with couples; apparently, they all used the excuse of returning to school early to meet for Valentine’s Day.

Cheng Yin, however, had stayed.

Sang Wuyan was idle in her room, chatting on QQ all day.

That evening, Teacher Li from the school for the disabled left a message online: “Teacher Sang, I have a favor to ask you.”

“Please tell me.”

“It’s like this…” Teacher Li explained.

It turned out that a child named Su Xiaowei from the blind class was an orphan, living in the A City Children’s Welfare Institute. Tomorrow happened to be her birthday. Last year, Teacher Li had promised her a birthday cake with fruit, but Teacher Li herself had something to do during the New Year and had returned to her hometown, so she wanted to ask Sang Wuyan to go in her place.

Sang Wuyan happily replied, “No problem.”

Her internship task was originally to follow Teacher Li as the assistant homeroom teacher for their class. Now, she finally had some tasks.

Before leaving, Sang Wuyan said generously, “I lack everything but compassion.”

Cheng Yin rolled her eyes at her, “You lack a good heart too?”

“Pfft—”

She didn’t know before that Xiao Wei came from such a family; she just thought Su Nianqin especially favored this child in class. Because both had the surname Su, Sang Wuyan initially suspected they were relatives. Now that she thought about it, perhaps Su Nianqin had known Xiao Wei’s background all along.

Speaking of which, welfare institutions generally had a custom: children would take the surname of the teacher working there, and then it would rotate once a year. For example, if it was Teacher Wu’s turn this year, then all children admitted this year would have the surname Wu. Their birthdays were also roughly the same; they wouldn’t celebrate individually unless the adults thoughtfully left the birth date when abandoning them.

When Sang Wuyan brought the fragrant cake to the welfare institute to see Xiao Wei, she found Xiao Wei and a group of children already eating.

Sitting on one side was surprisingly Su Nianqin.

Aunt Zhang from the welfare institute explained with a smile, “Teacher Su arrived a little earlier.”

It was Sang Wuyan’s first time here, and she felt curious. While the children’s attention was on dividing the second cake, she chatted with Aunt Zhang.

“If the child is young and has no disabilities, they are usually adopted within a short time here,” Aunt Zhang explained intermittently. “Some are lost children. A few days ago, the public security bureau sent two children who were abducted and trafficked. Their parents haven’t been found, so they’re temporarily staying with us. But most are abandoned by their parents.”

“Is it because of illness?”

Aunt Zhang nodded, “Born with defects, or originally wanted a boy, but gave birth to a girl and then abandoned her to try again.”

“How can there be such parents in the world?” Sang Wuyan said indignantly.

“Actually, some have their difficulties. They don’t have money to treat their children’s illnesses, so they have no choice but to give them to the government. Look at that child.” Sang Wuyan looked where Aunt Zhang gestured. An older child, about ten years old, held an infant. The infant was tiny and thin, licking the cream from its lips, chuckling.

“She was abandoned at the county government entrance when she was one and a half years old, with congenital heart disease. We sent her to Beijing for three surgeries to save her, costing hundreds of thousands. You tell me, how many families can afford that? If she hadn’t been sent here then, perhaps the child would have died long ago, and the family would have collapsed. Every family has its own difficulties,” Aunt Zhang sighed.

As they spoke, Su Nianqin stood by the window with his white cane, his face gloomy, not knowing what he was thinking.

“Are there any who find their birth parents?”

“Yes, but not many. Most still wait to be adopted. It’s impossible for everyone to say they have no selfish motives, isn’t it? Most adopted children are healthy, and many are young and don’t remember things. Like Xiao Wei, she can’t see, and she’s ten years old, so her chances aren’t great. We just hope she learns a skill well so she can support herself when she grows up. If not, she can stay and help us with work. Look at the oldest one,” Aunt Zhang referred to the older child who was holding the infant just now, “Her grades are excellent. The school teachers want her to take the university entrance exam. As long as she can get in, we will support her studies.”

Leaving the welfare institute, Sang Wuyan didn’t have the sense of satisfaction she had imagined after performing an act of kindness. Instead, she felt a bit heavy.

She left with Su Nianqin. She glanced back at Su Nianqin, who had his thin lips pursed, looking the same as always.

“Where are you going? I’ll take you,” Sang Wuyan asked.

“No need,” Su Nianqin fumbled and sat down on a bench by the road.

“Speaking of which, I have something I want to ask you.”

He remained silent, so Sang Wuyan had to continue herself.

“You’re not Yi Jin, are you?”

After Sang Wuyan spoke, she observed Su Nianqin’s expression. He remained as steady as a mountain, as if he hadn’t heard, too lazy to even acknowledge her.

She immediately got angry, “You might as well say something, even if you don’t want to admit it, just pretend. Why be like this, acting as if speaking one more word to me will give you the plague?” Sang Wuyan spoke quickly, rattling off a long string of words.

“You go your way. Me sitting here isn’t bothering you, is it? But please don’t stand in front of me, and don’t always bother me,” Su Nianqin said, slightly annoyed.

Seeing him angry, Sang Wuyan suddenly found it amusing, “Teacher Su, what are you talking about? Just now I was walking in front and you were behind, and now you’re sitting and I’m standing. Even if you occupied the bench first, this road isn’t built by your family. I can stand anywhere I want, as long as I’m willing, I have the right.”

Su Nianqin closed his eyes in forbearance. He, a grown man, didn’t want to lose his temper at a young girl on the street.

If Sang Wuyan were to retreat like this, she would be reverting to her old self. She simply sat down next to him.

Su Nianqin noticed and moved to the other end, preferring to avoid her rather than provoke her.

“I’ll take you.”

The man did not react.

“Sitting here like this isn’t going to work. It’s almost dark, and you need to eat dinner. Are you waiting for someone to pick you up?”

The man didn’t speak.

“Aren’t you bored waiting alone? I can keep you company.”

The man closed his eyes to rest, remaining silent.

“Do you think this is cool?”

Sang Wuyan talked to herself for a long time, and he didn’t show any reaction at all. She couldn’t help but feel very frustrated, “Hey—say something!”

“I think I also have the right not to speak,” Su Nianqin spoke leisurely, then closed his mouth, not saying another word.

Su Nianqin had originally been sitting there, waiting for her to leave first, and then he would call someone to pick him up. He hadn’t expected Sang Wuyan to just spend time with him like this.

Although it didn’t snow in A City in winter, staying outdoors motionless for so long was quite chilling.

The welfare institute was not far from A University. The next street over was A University North Gate’s snack street, with many students coming and going. Occasionally, passing young people of the opposite sex would look back at Su Nianqin and Sang Wuyan sitting there, even after walking a long way.

It was Valentine’s Day evening, and there were many couples. But the two of them, in their current state, looked like a couple having an argument.

Sang Wuyan sat there and felt cold after a while. She took off her gloves, raised her hands, blew several puffs of warm air, rubbed them hard, and then looked at Su Nianqin. He wasn’t wearing gloves, and the hand gripping the white cane was already purplish-blue. He remained stubbornly motionless. Sang Wuyan couldn’t help but frown; she no longer doubted that he would rather freeze to death there than admit defeat.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked.

Su Nianqin remained silent, shifting the white cane to his other hand. If one didn’t notice the white cane, when he just sat there, it was hard to tell he was blind. He was truly too handsome, his head slightly tilted up, his expression arrogant, exuding an inherent indifference.

Sang Wuyan felt a bit unbearable. She hesitated, took off her scarf, and wanted to wrap his almost frozen hands before leaving. But she was afraid her good intentions would be misunderstood. What if he didn’t appreciate it and threw the scarf on the ground, then stomped on it twice, she would lose too much face.

Just as she was hesitating, she heard someone call her name: “Sang Wuyan!”

Enemies met on a narrow road, and the arrivals were Xu Qian and Wei Hao.

After Xu Qian called her, she pulled Wei Hao closer and looked at her with a condescending expression.

“You two?” Wei Hao had never seen Su Nianqin before.

Sang Wuyan tilted her chin up, gracefully slipped her hand through Su Nianqin’s arm, leaning against him, and said intimately, “A date.”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qian sized up Su Nianqin.

Sang Wuyan smiled, unwilling to be outdone. In her heart, she was silently praying to Su Nianqin: Teacher Su, Lord Su, Great God Su, please, please be a hero and save the beauty. Please, just don’t expose me.

She held a faint hope, praying that this man truly had a sharp tongue but a kind heart, with a benevolent spirit that saved people in distress.

Just as the three pairs of eyes, each with their own thoughts, were staring at Su Nianqin, Su Nianqin gentlemanly pushed Sang Wuyan’s hand away, increased the distance between them, and then slowly uttered words that could send Sang Wuyan straight to hell.

“Miss Sang, please have some self-respect.”

After speaking, he stood up, leaned on his cane, and slowly walked forward along the tactile paving. He wore a mid-length dark gray overcoat, and coupled with his tall and slender figure, even his back was perfect. But at this moment, Sang Wuyan had no time to appreciate it; she wished she could immediately chop that infuriating back into mince meat.

After Su Nianqin disappeared around the corner, Xu Qian and Wei Hao retracted their gazes and then looked at Sang Wuyan together. In Sang Wuyan’s view, the man and woman had expressions of enjoying a good show. She was angry and annoyed, but she pretended to be nonchalant and twistedly argued, “This person… must have been confused by the cold.” Then, she fled in the direction Su Nianqin had disappeared.

Too much.

That pair had seen her make a fool of herself and must be overjoyed now.

She started running, her scarf clutched in her hand. The cold evening wind scraped her face, stinging it, and blew into her eyes, making her feel her eye sockets moistening.

She just wanted to save face.

Turning a corner, she saw Su Nianqin ahead. Sang Wuyan was seething and shouted, “Su Nianqin!”

The man ignored her.

“Su Nianqin! Stop right there!”

The man continued to walk forward at his own pace.

“Stop!” Sang Wuyan walked faster than him and grabbed his arm.

This series of actions made passersby start to stare.

Because Sang Wuyan was clinging to his coat, Su Nianqin reluctantly turned his head. His dark eyes were unfocused, and he said indifferently, “Please release your hand.”

“I won’t let go!”

Su Nianqin raised his arm, trying to force her to let go. But he was a man after all and didn’t dare to use too much force.

“You can let go, but first, come back with me and explain things clearly to them.”

“Was what I just said not the truth?” he coldly countered.

“You!” Sang Wuyan was at a loss for words, her face flushed red, but she still didn’t let go.

In the years after Huang Xiaoyan’s death, from junior high to high school and then to university, her personality slowly became more outgoing and cheerful. Plus, her studies were decent, and she looked relatively sweet. Although she wasn’t a class beauty, school beauty, or universally adored, she had never encountered an opposite-sex individual like Su Nianqin who always spoke ill of her.

Once her stubborn temper flared up, she couldn’t control it.

Thus, one with sharp words and one with a flushed face, such a young man and woman pulling at each other on Valentine’s Day street inevitably sparked curiosity. Some people slowed down their pace, and someone on the non-motorized vehicle lane even got off their bicycle and stopped to watch them.

Sang Wuyan said indignantly, “How can you be such a person?”

Su Nianqin countered, “What kind of person am I?”

Sang Wuyan glanced at the people nearby. She knew what Su Nianqin feared most. Just now, he dared to make her look bad; now she wouldn’t let him off easy either.

After making up her mind, Sang Wuyan gritted her teeth, pouted, and twisted her own thigh hard. The pain made her suddenly fake a crying voice: “How can you be such a person? I’ve followed you for so many years, fallen out with my family, and came here with you, alone and helpless. And now I’m pregnant with your child, how can you just leave and go on a date with that woman? I haven’t even had dinner tonight, the child and I are starving. How can you be so heartless and still go around flirting and finding that b***h?”

As soon as she said this, the expressions of the onlookers immediately changed to one of realization. Although Su Nianqin couldn’t see, he could clearly hear the whispers of accusation.

“You were always so good to me, but now you’re with another woman. If it were anyone else, I could tolerate it, but she happens to be my best friend. How could you two deceive me like this?” Sang Wuyan was originally fake crying, but as she spoke, she somehow started treating Su Nianqin as Wei Hao and genuinely became sad. She continued to cling to Su Nianqin’s clothes and squatted on the ground, weeping mournfully, her fake tears turning real.

People nearby frequently shook their heads in sympathy, and the accusations grew louder.

“Cheating when your wife is pregnant.”

“So young, but you really can’t tell.”

“It’s hard for a man who looks like that not to be a philanderer.”

“…”

“…”

And a middle-aged aunt with a grocery basket, gritted her teeth and squeezed out a word at Su Nianqin: “Scumbag!”

Su Nianqin’s face grew darker, the corner of his mouth twitched, “Sang Wuyan, get up now!”

“No!”

Su Nianqin’s face was dark with a greenish tinge, but he couldn’t erupt. He took a deep breath and said, “You can do whatever you want, but can you please get up first?” These words, forced out one by one, with suppressed anger, were spoken softly, almost to the point of internal injury.

“Do you promise?” Sang Wuyan wiped her tears.

“Yes.”

When two contend, the brave one wins.

When the brave contend, the wise one wins.

When the wise contend, the scoundrel wins…

The result of Su Nianqin’s compromise was that the two found a nearby KFC and sat down to eat. At this moment, it was past the peak dining hours, but the lively atmosphere in the store was completely at odds with Su Nianqin’s demeanor. He had never been to such a place and was somewhat unaccustomed to it. The cheerful yet noisy music, along with the children’s playful shouts, all squeezed into his ears, making him frown.

“Wei Hao and I have known each other since we were in the womb,” Sang Wuyan said, taking a fierce bite of her hamburger, and regardless of whether Su Nianqin opposite her was in the mood to listen, she began to recount the origins of their relationship.

Su Nianqin touched the watch on his left wrist, a little helpless.

“We were born in the same hospital, grew up in the same compound. He’s only two months older than me, and I still call him older brother. At that time, where was Xu Qian? But why did she say I was the third party? Why?” A misty cloud formed in Sang Wuyan’s eyes.

“Before, she was prettier than me, sweeter-spoken than me. Even though my grades were exactly the same as hers, the teachers liked her. When I joined the student council, she had to go too. When I went to the radio station, she joined the radio station. She’d say we were good friends, that we were in it together. She told me to apply to A University, and Xu Qian also applied to A University, but she was actually hiding from me that she wanted to date him. They both treated me like an idiot, keeping it from me the whole time.”

Sang Wuyan gulped down the chicken in her mouth, wiping her tears with a tissue from the table. “Wei Hao liked her, I knew he liked her. Him being with me later was just me forcing him.” She took a breath and continued to sob, “They both loved each other, and I was the one who broke them up. I know that. But, I was just angry, just pretending not to know anything, and not allowing them to be together, insisted on breaking them up.”

She looked pitiful and tearful, a spoiled and unruly torrent of words that made her both hateful and adorable.

If this situation happened to anyone else, they would be dumbfounded.

Sang Wuyan’s father and Wei Hao’s father were classmates in college. After graduation, they were assigned to the same unit and lived in the same apartment building. Sang Wuyan and Wei Hao grew up together until fifth grade.

Later, Wei Hao was awarded to his mother after his parents’ divorce and moved to another city.

Children tend to forget easily, so nearly everything about Wei Hao left no memorable impression in Sang Wuyan’s memory.

Thus, many years passed in a flash.

Sang Wuyan became familiar with Xu Qian in junior high. To enhance the class’s learning atmosphere, the homeroom teacher arranged all seats according to the final exam results of the previous semester. Xu Qian was third and Sang Wuyan was fourth, so they became deskmates. Previously, Sang Wuyan had practically no interaction with Xu Qian. Xu Qian was tall, fair-skinned, pretty, and had a proud personality, completely on a different planet from Sang Wuyan.

The two sat at the same desk, and who was superior and who was inferior was clear at a glance. So after half a month of sitting together, there was almost no communication between Sang Wuyan and Xu Qian beyond phrases like “Teacher called you” or “What’s the math homework today?”

Sang Wuyan was decent in science, but her history and music were exceptionally bad. Especially music; not to mention the tadpole-like staff notation, even with simplified notation in front of her, she would have to count on seven fingers to sort out “do re mi fa sol la ti.”

After a few trials, Sang Wuyan also learned her lesson and pre-marked “do re mi” on the side of the music book’s score, then sang according to the markings.

Unfortunately, during the mid-term music test in junior high, the teacher gave an oral exam, distributing question sheets after drawing lots. Because there were many people in the class, the teacher only spot-checked. Sang Wuyan was unfortunately called upon. Holding the sheet music, standing at the podium, her legs trembled a few times, and after dawdling for a long time, she finally managed to utter a “do,” and then, she couldn’t continue.

After a few seconds of silence, Sang Wuyan’s face turned beet red. “Mr. Nanguo” was finally about to reveal his true colors.

It was at this moment that her deskmate Xu Qian suddenly raised her hand and said, “Teacher, Sang Wuyan has a hoarse voice and can’t speak. I’ll sing for her.”

Sang Wuyan turned her head in surprise and saw Xu Qian secretly wink at her.

Xu Qian was usually all music teachers’ favorite student, and not long ago, she was the school’s lead singer in the city-wide “December 9th” singing competition for middle and high school students. Generally speaking, whatever Xu Qian said in front of the music teachers was taken as truth.

“Then Sang Wuyan will be tested next time,” the music teacher nodded, motioning for her to sit down.

This was the initial stage of their friendship blossoming, just when Huang Xiaoyan had passed away. Xu Qian’s appearance suddenly provided Sang Wuyan, who was in a vacuum, with life-saving oxygen again.

Sang Wuyan suddenly realized that the examples on TV of good students with good looks who loved to bully classmates were not entirely true.

However, Xu Qian’s image truly came alive in Sang Wuyan’s heart from the moment she skipped class one day after school.

That day, the weather was very cold. As soon as Sang Wuyan got home, Sang Mama told her to go downstairs to buy soy sauce. Next to the clothing store downstairs was a rental bookstore. Because of her family’s education, in Sang Wuyan’s young worldview at that time, extracurricular reading only included two types—the Four Great Classical Novels and famous foreign novels.

So when the girls in her class were reading romance novels, she had secretly glanced at them a few times and immediately felt deeply ashamed. Plus, Sang Mama had always warned her that those books were not for young children. Therefore, Sang Wuyan had always felt that a “rental bookstore” was almost equivalent to a “forbidden bookstore.”

Just as Sang Wuyan walked past the rental bookstore with her hands in her pockets, she saw Xu Qian inside, standing in front of a row of romance novels, holding a book, completely engrossed.

“Xu Qian?” Sang Wuyan called out to her loudly.

Xu Qian’s face lifted from the book, and the moment she saw Sang Wuyan, she couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

A top student with a little weakness is truly real; this was the truth Sang Wuyan suddenly realized. From that day on, she and Xu Qian truly began to open up to each other.

It turned out that Xu Qian’s family background was not as glamorous as her clothing made it seem. Xu Mama was an educated youth who had gone to the countryside, where she met Xu Papa, a widower with a son. Xu Mama’s family were all intellectuals, but Xu Papa’s family had been farmers for generations; he was just an honest and simple rough man. However, in that situation, the two actually got married. Later, Xu Qian’s family moved back to the city, her mother became a worker in a textile factory, and many years later, Xu Qian was born.

She didn’t know if Xu Mama was placing her unfulfilled lifelong wishes on Xu Qian, but Xu Mama’s demands on Xu Qian were almost strict; she had to do everything perfectly. Now, Xu Mama was laid off, and Xu Papa set up a stall outside repairing bicycles; their income was not abundant. But she had always taken Xu Qian to learn piano and even bought a piano.

When it was time to apply for high school entrance exams, Sang Wuyan finally witnessed Xu Mama’s authoritarianism.

At that time, the B City high school entrance exam was not a unified test; each high school set its own questions. Students had to take the exam at the school they wanted to attend, and admissions were based on merit. Of course, to be safe, parents would cast a wide net. Anyway, the exam times were staggered, so having more opportunities was not wrong, at most they would just lose some application fees.

Sang Papa had no demands for his daughter’s life other than that she be safe and happy. Whether she got into a famous school or an ordinary one, as long as she could study and make a living, it was fine. He never put pressure on his daughter. Although Sang Mama was also strict, she could still recognize the situation, so Sang Wuyan also applied to all the schools she could.

But Xu Qian was different; besides getting into No. 7 Middle School, she didn’t count on anything else.

“What if it fails?” Sang Wuyan asked.

“My mom said, if I can’t get into No. 7 Middle School, I’ll go back to my hometown to farm. My dad’s plot of land is still reserved for me,” Xu Qian replied. Although Xu Qian’s tone was calm, Sang Wuyan saw misty tears in her eyes for the first time.

At that moment, she truly felt that she was indeed much luckier than Xu Qian. For the next two months, the two of them worked together to prepare for the high school entrance exam. When the results for No. 7 Middle School were announced in the summer, everyone was happy, and they became classmates again.

On the first day of school, there were three consecutive classes of self-introductions. When it was the turn of a tall boy in the last row, the boy slowly stood up and said, “My name is Wei Hao, graduated from…”

Sang Wuyan heard the name Wei Hao and immediately found it familiar.

After school, Wei Hao walked to Sang Wuyan’s desk and said with a grin, “Sang Wuyan, why don’t you recognize me anymore?”

Sang Wuyan looked up, scrutinizing him from top to bottom and then bottom to top twice, and finally unearthed the memory of this person. It seemed there was indeed someone named Wei Hao who had appeared in her childhood.

She blinked again, seeming to remember something.

He was two months older than her, and she called him “Little Haozi Gege.” She loved to pull on his coattails, being led to run all over the mountains and fields.

He once took her to dig snails in the fields outside the apartment building, then washed them, crushed their shells, and roasted them with a little salt to eat. When Sang Wuyan returned home, she had diarrhea for three days.

In the middle of the month, he rallied everyone to roast sausages, and then Sang Wuyan stole all of her father’s manuscripts to use as firewood.

So many embarrassing memories flooded her mind, instantly making Sang Wuyan happy. She revealed a pair of tiger teeth and chuckled, “It’s you.”

Childhood sweethearts reunited.

For three years of high school, Sang Wuyan led this pure friendship of one boy and two girls, and then they all got into A University. It wasn’t until the evening of receiving their acceptance letters that Xu Qian invited Sang Wuyan to the school’s ping-pong table and said, “Wuyan, there’s something I’ve been hiding from you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m in a relationship.”

“Really?” Sang Wuyan jumped up in surprise. “Who is it?”

Xu Qian smiled charmingly, a little shy.

“Do I know him?”

Xu Qian nodded.

“From our class?” Sang Wuyan guessed.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Wang Hao? Li Huijie? Wu Xiaopeng…”

After a round of guessing, Xu Qian kept shaking her head.

“Who is it?” Sang Wuyan was anxious.

“It’s Wei Hao,” Xu Qian smiled.

Sang Wuyan’s face stiffened when she heard the name.

Finally, Sang Wuyan didn’t even know how she got home. She only remembered smiling at Xu Qian and saying, “That’s good,” and then she went into her room, buried herself under the covers, and felt something wasn’t right.

At first, she held her breath, then she felt uncomfortable, and eventually, she actually cried into her pillow until it was soaked.

In her freshman year, she pretended not to know they were dating. Relying on Wei Hao spoiling her, she acted as a constant third wheel, devising a series of plans with the goal of “destroying Xu Wei.” When she pulled Cheng Yin into it, Cheng Yin shook her head, “Are you crazy, Sang Wuyan?”

“You’re the one who’s crazy.”

“You’re even darker-hearted than the wicked stepmother in Snow White.”

“Pfft pfft pfft. Cheng Yin, don’t be a traitor and pick the wrong side.”

“How am I a traitor? I’m clearly your faithful magic mirror, your majesty. I only speak the truth, not lies.”

But then one day, when Wei Hao finally left Xu Qian and returned to her side because of her, Sang Wuyan realized that this wasn’t what she wanted either.

She began to timidly avoid Xu Qian’s disgusted gaze and also Wei Hao. Until she saw Wei Hao and Xu Qian kissing, their relationship still lingering, in a drunken haze, her feeling was actually one of relief, not jealousy.

After pouring out all these things to Su Nianqin, she realized how manipulative she truly was.

Two days before the Lantern Festival, Sang Wuyan went to the station.

After the New Year, there were some personnel adjustments. Sang Wuyan was assigned to the news department, working with another intern girl, learning from a reporter named Jiang.

She used to be a broadcaster at A University’s radio station, but now she was suddenly assigned to the news department as an editor, and writing was not her forte, so her heart was pounding.

Since she started before the other intern girl, Teacher Jiang had her guide the girl to familiarize herself with the environment and procedures.

The girl had big eyes and a nickname, Yuan Yuan (Round Round).

Sang Wuyan pointed to the three offices on the right and said, “These are the program broadcasting room, computer room, and conference room. The innermost one is the program production room.”

Yuan Yuan quickly took notes in her small notebook.

“Teacher Jiang said she’d print out the program schedule for us later so we can understand the program flow.”

Yuan Yuan nodded and took another note.

“You don’t have an employee meal card, do you? I’ll treat you to lunch.”

Yuan Yuan continued to note down her words.

“Hey, don’t write that,” Sang Wuyan smiled. “You’re not interviewing me.”

During lunch, she met Director Wang from the former music department.

Director Wang smiled, “Little Sang, are you used to the news department?”

Sang Wuyan smiled apologetically, “It’s alright, thank you for your concern, Director Wang.”

After Director Wang left, another editor-reporter named Wu Wei came over. Wu Wei sat down with his meal tray and heard Sang Wuyan sweetly call out, “Hello, Big Brother Wu.”

Wu Wei almost choked on a mouthful of soup, nearly spitting it out, and got goosebumps all over. He looked up and saw Sang Wuyan’s eyes narrowed in a smile, and couldn’t help but say with a shiver, “Just tell me what you need, Little Sang, don’t be like that; it’s kind of scary.”

“They say you have a copy of Sister Xi’s interview with Yi Jin. Can you make me a copy later?” This matter had been on her mind.

“Hey, that? No problem, I’ll give it to you after work,” Wu Wei said.

“Thanks, I’ll treat you to dinner next time.”

After a while, Wu Wei said, “You’re not one of those crazy fans, are you?”

“Yes, I am,” Sang Wuyan admitted directly, not forgetting to protest, “What ‘that’? He has a name!”

“You’re so close with Sister Xi, and you interned with her before, why don’t you just ask her directly?” Wu Wei said.

“What’s between us? Since you have it, why should I bother Sister Xi?”

Actually, there were two reasons she didn’t go to Nie Xi: Firstly, since Yi Jin was willing to break tradition and accept her exclusive interview, she must be on Yi Jin’s side. Moreover, Sang Wuyan had already shown great interest in Yi Jin last time, so this time, Nie Xi would inevitably be suspicious, stirring up trouble; secondly, Nie Xi was a big name at the station. Although she was usually amiable, she always made people feel a bit distant.

Coming out of the cafeteria, just as she was about to say goodbye to Wu Wei, Yuan Yuan, who hadn’t spoken yet, suddenly said, “Teacher Wu…” she deliberated for a long time before calling out this relatively polite address, “Can you also make a copy for me?” The girl, who was originally so proper, had shining eyes when she said this.

“Sure, you two can come pick it up after work,” Wu Wei readily agreed.

Sang Wuyan glanced at Yuan Yuan. So, there’s a love rival here too?

It was late when she left the radio station, and she took a taxi home. At the third ring road intersection, there was some traffic, and the car stopped and went, really testing one’s patience. The taxi driver changed several stations, but there was nothing substantial, so he started looking through CDs again.

Sang Wuyan said, “Master, can you play this disc for me?” Saying that, she took out the interview disc from her handbag.

The driver said, “Sure. What kind of music is it?” Then he put it in and pressed play.

After the intro, it was Nie Xi’s voice.

The driver said, “I really like this host; her voice is good, and they say she’s especially beautiful.”

Sang Wuyan smiled, not answering. She was concentrating on waiting for another voice to appear. After a pause of one or two seconds, Yi Jin spoke.

Listening to the somewhat awkward Q&A between Nie Xi and Yi Jin, the driver said again, “Miss, you’re from the radio station, aren’t you? Otherwise, how would you have this? If you’re from the radio station, you must know who Yi Jin is, right?”

Sang Wuyan chuckled, “Master, you know Yi Jin too?”

“My daughter talks about him all day; how could I not know?”

Just as he said this, the road began to clear, and the car sped up.

She listened to the disc, looked out the window, and took a deep breath. After only hearing the man on the CD speak two or three words, she was certain.

Su Nianqin was Yi Jin.

The next day was Saturday, and Sang Wuyan unusually didn’t sleep until noon.

She pulled out the contact list for the school for the deaf and mute from her drawer. At the bottom of it was a phone number, which she had secretly copied from Principal Pei’s office.

She hesitated for a moment, pressing the numbers but not dialing for a long time.

“What’s there to hesitate about? Ask him to meet you and say you want hush money,” Cheng Yin said. “If this kind of gossip were sold to magazines, who knows how much it would be worth. Now he gives you hush money, we make money, and he can continue to be mysterious. Do you know what this is called?”

“What’s it called?”

“Win-win!” Cheng Yin said, clenching her fist spiritedly.

“…” Sang Wuyan rolled her eyes at her.

Because there had been so much foreshadowing, when Sang Wuyan realized that Su Nianqin was Yi Jin, she wasn’t as surprised as she had anticipated. However, she always felt that their relationship had undergone a strange and subtle change.

He was Yi Jin in addition to being Su Nianqin, such a big celebrity. The moment the name “Yi Jin” appeared, it distanced them.

But it wasn’t entirely like that.

She knew his secret. In another sense, this secret seemed to have deepened their connection.

She irritably rubbed her temples, then gritted her teeth and pressed the dial button.

“Hello—” The phone rang twice, and his voice came through the receiver.

“Uh, this is Sang Wuyan.”

“What is it?”

“Are you Yi Jin?” Sang Wuyan said.

She asked him so directly, wanting to catch her opponent off guard and seize the opportunity in his confusion.

After two seconds of silence on the other end of the line, he said, “If you have nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

He neither admitted nor denied it, just like last time.

“You really are Yi Jin,” she murmured, repeating it with some emotion. But faced with Su Nianqin’s taciturnity, Sang Wuyan began to rack her brains for a topic. “Oh, right, thank you for listening to my complaints last time.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye!” The man hung up without explanation.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Sang Wuyan quickly tried to stop him, but it was too late. She heard a beep, and the other party had indeed hung up.

Sang Wuyan had not expected such a situation at all. She looked at the screen: Call duration: 17 seconds. He had only given her seventeen seconds.

This sense of frustration was like she had prepared lines to perform an entire play, but was cut off after only two lines by the director and then kicked off the stage. Thinking of this, her courage drained, and she wilted.

This round proved that even a scoundrel, over the phone, was beyond reach.